What is prayer?

Prayer is a silent and emotional conversation with Maharaj from the bottom of the heart.

Prayer is a humble, pure request one does to Maharaj.

Prayer is begging in front of Maharaj from deep inside one’s heart.

Prayer is asking for forgiveness of mistakes to Maharaj and a promise never to repeat the mistakes.

Symbol of servitude

The prayer is a symbol of servitude, it is complete surrender to Maharaj. It is a request to obtain divine qualities in prayer, a plea to attain the happiness of the deity, a request to progress on the path of liberation, acceptance of one's faults with humility, a resolution not to perform disobedient actions, and a willingness to be relieved of all burdens, with firm determination.

Importance of Prayer

Prayer is food for the soul. As the body requires nutritious food to stay strong, similarly, the soul requires prayer to remain strong. To explain the importance of prayer, HDH Swamishri often says, "It is impossible to stay on the spiritual path without prayer. From the start of the spiritual path to the end (meaning the attainment of sthiti), prayer is a vital vehicle. Prayer is a medium through which we can quickly become free from the countless miseries in our spiritual, social, bodily, and mental aspects of life. Through prayer, we can speak our hearts out to Maharaj and become burden-less. If we pray with true feelings and emotions, one's sorrow comes to an end. In short, performing prayers will free one of their bad habits and help them gain positive virtues.

Prayer is a simple way to be free from various spiritual, practical, physical, mental, and emotional sufferings. Expressing the pain of our hearts through prayer in the presence of Maharaj alleviates it gently. Such a prayer, being filled with true sentiments, alleviates even deep sorrows. Therefore, prayer becomes an integral part of our lives. It begins and ends the day.

Even HDH Swamishri emphasizes the importance of prayer, saying, "Prayer should be done consistently throughout the day. Even if it's only 25-50 times a day. If a prayer is uttered loudly in front of Maharaj's murti, even a needy person, Maharaj helps a lot."

When should one perform prayer?

Mostly when we have a problem or sorrow, we pray to Maharaj, saying, "O Maharaj! Please help me.” We use prayer as a medication, but we need prayer until our last breath. It is because we make mistakes at each step of our life, meaning we are constantly guilty. Therefore, we should perform prayer continuously. Its necessity should not be like medication but instead like air.

How should one perform Prayer?

Prayer shows how desperate and needy one is. Moreover, we ask for something from the Lord; therefore, we should always pray with folded hands. When praying, if there is a Murti of Maharaj, we can have our eyes open; otherwise, we should pray with closed eyes.

When talking on the phone with someone, we devote all our attention to the conversation so much that we even become unaware of our surroundings. Similarly, prayer is our internal phone call with Maharaj. While praying, we should not think about anything else but instead, focus all our concertation on Maharaj. We should stabilize our thoughts and pray with full emotions.

Preparing oneself for praying

1. One should become desperate and needy when praying.

2. One should become completely ego-free before praying.

3. One should perform the prayer with the thought that Maharaj is always omnipresent.

4. One should pray with the firm faith that ‘Maharaj is always listening to my prayers.’

How can prayer be done? Who can do it?

- We can do a prayer either loudly or silently in our minds.

- We can also do a prayer by singing or saying the words.

- One can do a prayer alone or with a group of people. However, performing a prayer alone is 100 times more beneficial than praying in a group. Maharaj becomes extremely pleased with prayers performed independently. One can achieve a highly peaceful state of mind and experience divinity by praying in a tranquil place with true emotion towards Maharaj.

- One can pray to Shriji Maharaj, Abjibapashri, Gurudev Bapji, and HDH Swamishri. One can also pray to please the devotees of Maharaj and Satpurush.

Some things to remember while performing a prayer

Prayer did for selfish deeds such as better health or worldly items called a sakam prayer. Asking Maharaj and Motapurush for material objects is like asking a diamond merchant for vegetables. Because Maharaj and Motapurush have come to grant the diamond-like bliss of Murti. They are the whole-sellers of Murti; hence, we should never ask them for worldly pleasures by performing a sakam prayer. However, life is full of ups and downs, and to overcome its hardships, we only have one source of help: Maharaj and Motapurush. Hence, in such difficulties, one should pray to them only. One should never betray Maharaj and remain ever faithful towards Him by never praying to anyone else. After praying to Maharaj, we should happily accept whatever result Maharaj gives us.

The benefits of Prayer:

There are both profits and losses in any business, but there are only profits in performing a nishkam prayer.

All the stress, tension, unhappiness, or hardships one may face in daily life is eliminated by prayer. Prayer makes one ultimately burden-free.

Prayer can also cure the body's illness and mind. One prays to Maharaj and Motapurush with great positivity; then, one can become filled with extreme positivity.

This positivity brings new hope to one's life.

Prayer melts one's ego. The thought of "I am nothing" is firmly established, and the importance of Maharaj and Motapurush rises in one’s life.

Praying ignites immense love and gratitude towards Maharaj and Motapurush. Even an utterly depressed soul gets new motivation and becomes filled with happiness. Prayer helps one find the answers to many unanswered questions. Praying helps one experience eternal peace.

Therefore, prayer removes all our faults, increases inner peace, and cures physical diseases. Prayer also calms the mind and avoids family conflicts. This change in the individual leads to positive social changes. The seeds of world peace are sown, and it feels as if we are already in the abode of Lord Swaminarayan.